Arvind Kejriwal has no affection for Punjab: Badal

Parkash Singh Badal slammed Congress and AAP for hobnobbing with each other on the SYL issue

Gurdaspur (Pb), Dec 13: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday accused his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal of having no affection for Punjab or its people and his sole intention is to "grab power" in the poll-bound state.

"Kejriwal's statement on the Sutlej-Yamuna-Link (SYL) canal issue is aimed at deriving political benefit from this move. He is against the state from the core of his heart," Badal said after laying foundation stone for a college and sub-division complex in Kalanaur here.

He claimed the AAP leader "changes" his stand on the issue "as per his convenience to mislead the people".

Recently, Kejriwal accused ruling SAD, and Congress of "befooling" Punjabis on the SYL issue. "Kejriwal hails from Haryana so he is naturally inclined to safeguard interests of his state. He has no affection for Punjab and his sole intention is to grab power for Haryana's benefit," he said.

"In an affidavit to the Supreme Court on SYL, the Delhi government said the Punjab government's stand will disintegrate the country," Badal alleged, adding the "Delhi government has also claimed this step was unconstitutional and anti-national".

Meanwhile, at a function ahead of Christmas, Badal slammed Congress and AAP for hobnobbing with each other on the SYL issue and asked people to foil their "nefarious designs to ruin the state".

"They are conniving to deprive Punjab of its legitimate share of river water by constructing the canal," he said, adding as per the Riparian principle Punjab is the rightful owner of its river waters.

The Congress has divested the state of its rights by giving water to Rajasthan, Haryana and other states and now AAP has joined it to rob the state of its waters, Badal alleged.

He said Congress in the past had signed various water agreements to "deprive" the state of its waters and now the AAP is trying to ensure them at the earliest. "Punjab has no spare water to share with anyone. Nobody will be allowed to construct the canal," Badal said, adding the parties are hell bent on turning the state into a desert.

He said by conferring ownership rights of land acquired for the canal to original owners the SAD-BJP government "had buried this issue forever".

Reiterating the state government's firm commitment to ensure development of the Christian community, Badal said his government has earmarked Rs 100 crore for providing land for burial grounds as required by the community, he said.

PTI